


Tommy's Flu

by Freedoms_Champion



Series: Malcolm Merlyn's Mom Moments [1]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: 24 hour flu, Gen, Malcolm isn't as cold as he acts, Pre-Series, Tommy needs his dad back, dad moments, mildly sad fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-30
Updated: 2020-05-30
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:01:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 825
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24450241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Freedoms_Champion/pseuds/Freedoms_Champion
Summary: When Tommy Merlyn gets the flu, the last thing he expects is for his dad to sit at his side and nurse him back to health.
Relationships: Malcolm Merlyn & Tommy Merlyn
Series: Malcolm Merlyn's Mom Moments [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1765921
Comments: 6
Kudos: 20





	Tommy's Flu

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading!  
> I love Malcolm Merlyn and I really want more stories where he shows off a different side of himself. Plus, Tommy needs some happy moments!
> 
> Please enjoy!

Tommy Merlyn felt like crap.

It was worse than any hangover he’d ever had, which was saying more than most nineteen-year-olds. Tommy had never shied away from a drink, knowing his dad would make sure any scandal stayed hushed up.

This flu was the most miserable he’d felt since his mom died.

Dimly, he did feel lucky he wasn’t hunched over the toilet heaving up every internal organ he possessed, but that didn’t make much of a dent in how sorry he felt for himself. He lay in bed, blankets thrown to the side, his t-shirt stuck to the sweat covering his skin.

The house was quiet around him. Dad was in Central City for some business thing and none of the staff were due in today. Tommy had warned Ollie to stay home, not wanting to pass the bug to his best friend. Still, that meant there was no one to distract him from the unrelenting hell he was going through.

Tommy mustered the strength to raise his arm and drape it over his face. If he could wake up a little, he might be able to turn on the TV. It wasn’t like having real company, but it was better than listening to his own heartbeat. No one would care if he fell asleep and left it on. Dad wasn’t here to complain about the noise…

His head pounded at the idea of noise. As bad as he felt right now, he’d never be able to turn the volume down fast enough to keep from deafening himself.

The floor creaked outside his door. Tommy jumped a little and instantly regretted it as his joints ached. No one was supposed to be in the house.

Tommy tried to push himself into a sitting position, but his arm shook too much to exert much pressure. All he could do was hitch himself a little higher on his pillow. He looked around for his phone, but it was still on the nightstand where he’d dropped it after talking to Ollie. He’d never be able to reach it and call for help if something was wrong.

“Who’s there?” he tried to ask. All that came out was a formless rasp that didn’t make sense even to him.

The door opened anyway. Tommy had pulled the curtains closed yesterday when he first felt the sickness coming on, so he couldn’t make out anything in the dark hallway.

“Oh, kiddo, I wish you had called,” Dad said quietly. Tommy felt a hand press into his forehead, cool and soothing.

“Dad?” This time Tommy could understand himself. “What are you doing here?”

“I came home a little early. How long has this been going on?”

“Yesterday,” Tommy managed, but his head started pounding again, making it too hard to talk.

Maybe he was hallucinating. Dad didn’t care what he did, as long as he didn’t get in the way while he was working. A long time ago, Tommy had had a real dad, who hugged him when he had nightmares and made him laugh afterwards, but that had vanished when Mom died. Dad had gone away, Tommy still didn’t know where, and when he came back, he’d been a different person. Ollie’s dad had stepped in, looking after Tommy like a second son. Malcolm was just the guy who shared Tommy’s house; not a bad roommate as far as it went, but not like the dad he had been.

It was a better hallucination than the last one, Tommy decided as Malcolm smoothed the sweat-soaked hair back from his forehead and pulled the blankets back over him. Shivering locked his teeth together, making his face ache.

“Come on, Tommy, drink it,” Dad coaxed, lifting Tommy’s head.

He couldn’t remember him leaving, but he must have. There was no way to make tea in Tommy’s room. He sipped at it, feeling the steam quickly cool on his skin. There was no taste, but it left a funny numb feeling in the back of his throat. Exhausted by the effort, Tommy slumped back when he was done.

Dad went back to smoothing his hair back as Tommy drifted off to sleep.

Dim light filtered through the curtains when Tommy woke up. He still felt weak, but the fever and aches were gone. His comforter had been folded back neatly to the foot of his bed, leaving him covered with only the top sheet.

Tommy didn’t think he would have done that himself, even in the grip of a fever, but there was no way his dad had gone to so much trouble. He’d been dreaming that Dad cared enough to nurse him even a little bit.

A light snore made him jump and stare. The chair in his room usually held clothes, but now it had been pulled close to his bed and held Malcolm, head tilted back, one arm dangling to the floor.

The empty mug was still on his nightstand.


End file.
